Fire fighting system



FEB 9, 1932. R. M. URQUHART FIRE FIGHTING SYSTEM Filed Jan. 7, 1926 'SLIDABLE CONNECTION Patented Feb. 9, 1932 Ti STATES BADCLIFIEE MORRIS UEQUHART, OF NEW YORK, INK. Y.

FIRE FIGHTING SYSTEM Application filed January 7. 1926. Serial No. 79,784.

llhe leading object of my invention is to simplify and increase the flexibility of use of systems for protecting from fire structures, such as oil tanks; having highly inflammable contents, which when ignited burn so fiercely as to prevent approach thereto from the lee ward side, and my improvements are particularly designed to obviate necessity for extensive permanent installations of piping for n supplying to such structure fire extinguishing foam forming or foaming solutions, which tend to lose their eflicacy in traversing long distances in contact with conduit walls.

lln accordance with my improvements, the

structure to be protected from fire has permanently associated therewith means for sup plying foam thereto, such means having inlets on opposite sides of the structure so that no matter from what direction the wind is go blowing, opportunity is afforded for the attachment thereto of a portable hose line or lines for supplying foam forming fluids or a foaming fluid for dispersion over the inflammable contents of the tank or structure.

Preferably the foam is delivered to'the tank through risers having expansible sections and making a sliding connection with the structure wall, so as to avoid rupture of a riser by inward movement of the wall resulting so from an explosion.

The characteristic features and advantages of my improvements will more fully appear from: the following description and the accompanying drawings illustrating a preferred layout embodying my invention.

In the drawings, Fig. 1 is a diagrammatic elevation of an oil tank protected from fire in accordance with my improved system; Fig. 2 is a top plan view of the layout shown in in Fig. 1; Fig. 3 is a longitudinal sectional view of a header; and Fig. 4 is a transverse sectional view of a header.

As illustrated in the drawings, a covered oil tank 11s surrounded by a dike 2 in accordance with usual practice. Risers 3, disposed on opposite sides of the tank, have their discharge ends passing through stufling boxes 4: in the tank walls, so as to make a tight sliding connection.

Headers 5, located on opposite sides of the tank and preferably outside of the dike, contain partitions 6 forming in the respective headers compartments 7 and 8.

Each riser 3 has an expansion section 3' and is connected through tubing 9, controlled by a valve 9, with the compartments 7 and 8 of one header, and is connected through tubing 10 with a riser 11 passing upwardly through the bottom of the tank adjacent to the center thereof.

The compartments 7 of one header is connected with the compartment 7 of the opposite header by a conduit 12 controlled by a valve 12, and the compartment 8 of one header is connected with the compartment 8 of the opposite header by a conduit 13 controlled by a valve 13'. Each of the compartments 7 and 8 has one or more inlets l4 controlled by hinged flapper valves 15 normally closed by springs 16. The inlets 14 are surrounded 70 by hollow bosses 17, provided with threads or bayonet joints for the attachment of a hose coupling.

With such an installation, when it is necessary to supply a fire extinguishing compound to the tank, a flexible hose, as 18, connected with a Water supply, is connected with any inlet 17 of the header on the windward side of the tank. By feeding to the water flowing through the hose a foam forming and stabilizing powder, such as a mixture of sodium carbonate, aluminum sulphate and licorice, from the hopper 19, a foaming solution is fed through the windward header, through the windward riser, through the central riser, through one of the conduits connecting the windward and leeward headers, through the leeward header and through the leeward riser to the interior of the tank. Instead of feeding a mixed powder, the hopper 19 may be partitioned, as indicated in dotted lines in Fig. 2, and the sodium carbonate and foam stabilizer fed from one side of the hopper and the aluminuimsulphate from the other side of the hopper, thereby deferring to some extent the formation of the foam. If the distance from the point of introduction of the powders to the discharge mouths of the headers is sufliciently great. to cause substantial diminution of the volume of foam after its formation, one or more hose may be connected with each of the compartments 7 and 8 of the windward header and a sodium carbonate and foam stabilizing solution supplied to one compartment and an aluminum sulphate solution supplied to the other compartment, so that the solutions will mix to form foam in the respective risers.

While the foaming solution or foam forming solutions are preferably formed by drawing suitable powders into flowing streams of water from hoppers such as 19, by means of suitable injectors at the bottoms thereof, it'

will, of course, be understood that such solutions may be supplied from storage tanks. Should the wall 0 the tank yield inward as a'result of combustion or explosion, the ex pansible section of the riser and its sliding connection with the wall avoids rupture of the riser, and should ariser give .way the flow thereto may be out off by manipulating the proper valves.

Having described my invention, I claim:

1. The combination with an inflammable liquid storage tank and a dike spaced from and surrounding said tank so as to form a reserve container for the contents of said tank, of means comprising permanent apparatus and portable apparatus for supplying foam to said tank, said permanent apparatus comprising conduit mechanism fixed relatively to said tank and discharging thereinto at spaced points around the peri hery 'of said tank, said conduit mechanism aving inlets forming primary coupling mechanism outside said dike and at spaced points around the periphery thereof, said couplings being so spaced that one is toward the lee when the other is toward the windward of a wind blowing against said tank, and said portable apparatus comprising flexible hose detachably connected with the windward of said coupling mechanisms and foam generating apparatus comprising injector mechanism for introducing granular foam forming chemicals into water flowing through said hose toward said last named coupling mechanism, and one or more hoppers discharging to said injector mechanism for supplying foam forming chemicals to water flowing therethrough and into said hose.

2. The combination with a tank and a dike spaced from and surrounding said tank so as to form a reserve retainer for contents of said tank, of means comprising permanent apparatus and portable apparatus for supplying foam to said tank, said permanent apparatus comprising conduit mechanism fixed relatively to said tank and having an outlet discharging into said tank, said conduit mechanism having inlets forming primary couplings outside said dike on opposite sides thereof, and said portable apparatus comprising a hose line detachablyconnected with one of said inlets and a foam generator having an open hopper discharging to a stream of water flowing through said hose line toward said inlet.

3. The combination with a tank and a dike spaced from and surrounding said tank so as to form a reserve retainer for contents of said tank, of means comprising permanent apparatus and portable apparatus for supplying foam to said tank, said permanent apparatus comprising conduit mechanism having outlets discharging to said tank on opposite sides thereof and having inlets forming primary couplings outside saiddike on opposite sides thereof, both of said outlets being connected with each of said inlets, and said portable apparatus comprising a hose line detachably connected with one of said inlets and a foam generator having an open hopper discharging through an injector to a stream of water flowin through said hose line toward one of said in ets.

4. The combination with a tank, of risers opposite sides of said tank and exterior there-' to and extending substantially to the top thereof, pipes connecting the respective headers with the respective risers, and pipes on the opposite sides of said tank connecting said headers with one another independently of the pipes connecting the respective headers with the respective risers.

6. The combination with a structure to be protected, of means for feeding foam to said structure and comprising an expansible riser the ends of which have a fixed vertical relation to said structure.

7. The combination with a structure'to be protected from fire, of means for feeding foam to said structure and having an outlet adjacent to the .top of said structure and connected therewith, an inlet adjacent to the bottom of said structure and fixed relatively thereto and an expansible intermediate section permitting relative movements of said inlet and outlet.

8. The combination with a structure to be protected .from fire, of means for feeding foam to said structure and comprising a, V811."- ticoi riser having a Iaterei sliding connection. with a Wall of said structure.

9. The combination with a structure to be protected, of means for feeding tooim to said structure and comprising a plurality of risers at plurality of headers each containing a pin Polity of co1npartments and means connectcompartments poitnients of another header, each of said risers being connected with both competit ments of one of said headers.

testimony whereof I hove hereuiito set my name this 2nd day of January 19%:

RAD ULELFFE MU? "tiift URQUIHIAR'ILI of one header with come 

